They had spent most of the night talking and sharing the most darkest and hollowest parts of their lives, reaching levels of intimacy that they craved; they'd expressed their love in every way imaginable, over and over again until she fell asleep in a haze of love and intoxication.

Elijah had stared at her sleeping for a long while, enjoying the peace that took over her entirely and the stillness between them.

But, unfortunately, he had to wake her eventually, the day was starting and the sun was rising higher in the sky and their perfect bliss had to come to an end before they raised suspicion; he woke her with soft and small kisses along her jawline and she soon came too, a sleepy and a bright smile curled up on her lips when she felt him beside him, lavishing her with the love he planned on expressing to her forever. All she wanted was to wake up beside him everyday.

"Good morning," she said with a slight stretch and a sleepy tone before curling her arms around his neck and kissing him softly.

"Have I told you how beautiful you are?" She smiled on his lips at the same words he had spoke to her the night before and returning it with the same answer.

"Maybe once or twice," she grinned on his lips, indulging in him for a long moment, the moments were fleeting so she chose to embrace the few left before forcing herself out of bed.

She still had his shirt on from the early hours of the night and it awoken a fiery desire within him; he remained lay on the bed, his head propped up on his hand as he stared at her with animalistic eyes.

Feeling the piercing stares on her back, she peered her head slightly over her shoulder and began undoing the buttons one-by-one slowly until it was completely open; a low growl emitted from his lips as she pushed it over her shoulders and it fell from her, revealing her completely.

"I'm just gonna get a shower," she spoke teasingly and before she knew it, he sped in front of her and swept her off her feet; taking her into the bathroom, he held her effortlessly with one arm as he switched on the hot water and carried her in, indulging in their sinful passions one last time before the most perfect date night had to end

A while later, Elijah dropped Elena at the compound and she tried to sneak through the foyer unnoticed to reach Davinas room but was there such a thing as sneaking when there's vampires around?

She got to the bottom step on the staircase before she heard Marcel appear behind her, followed by a few more of the inner circle; she squeezed her eyes shut for a long moment and willing herself away, "damn."

"Same clothes as the night before, barefooted and heels in hand and a liquor induced headache?" He mused, a small smirk appearing on his lips, "out all night, huh?"

"I hate you," she muttered under her breath before walking up the stairs with her head hung in shame; she chuckled lightly as she knocked on Davina's door and it instantly swung open and she pulled her inside.

"Tell me everything!" She exclaimed, before pulling them both on the bed and Elena instantly flopped backwards on it, hungover and loved up.

"It was most the amazing night, Elijah is perfect," she started, her mind playing the memories of the night over and over again, etching in her subconscious forever.

She told Davina everything whilst she dressed in the clothes she came in yesterday, she told her about the restaurant, the amazing jazz club and the hotel, without spilling the more intimate secrets, of course.

They had coffee and breakfast with Marcel in the courtyard, he had a spread prepared and it was slowly going to be the cure to her hangover; she nibbled away at pancakes and muffins, and poured herself a second cup of coffee.

It wasn't long until Klaus had walked through the gates, she spun on her chair and saw him standing behind her, as if he was inspecting her for harm.

"Good morning, Nik," she flashed him a grin and held out a plate with a muffin on it, "hungry?"

"Good morning, little warrior," he took a seat on the chair beside her and helped himself to a mug off coffee, "how was your night, then?"

"It was good," she smiled softly, not completely lying yet, it was the most amazing night of her life.

"What did you girls get up too?" He smirked slightly before bringing the mug to his lips and taking a large swig.

"Girl stuff, you know? Talking, bonding, romantic movies, spells, the works," she flashed a look at Davina and they both smiled mischievously.

"Well, I'm thrilled you enjoyed your evening but now that is over, we have some business to attend too," Elena wanted to cry at his words, all she wanted to do was go home, curl up in a ball and nurse her hangover, the worst thing in the world to her right now was talking vampire business, "the others will be here shortly."

"Great," she half smiled, before drinking the remainder of her coffee and pouring herself another, she was going to need it; Klaus' phone began to ring and he took the call outside, she instantly picked up a bagel and threw it at Marcel, "you knew about the meeting, didn't you?"

A burst of laughter emitted from his lips and he clapped his hands together, "of course I did, I just love to watch you suffer."

"You're evil," she smirked playfully.

The others began to arrive, Elijah had came first and he looked perfect, not a speck of evidence on him of the night before whereas she looked terrible; Rebekah and Kol joined and then there was a full table.

"The full moon is tomorrow," Klaus spoke ominously, his eyes flickering between his siblings and Marcel, "we have the unification ritual ready, the wolves are sending a member from their respective packs that haven't activated there curse yet and the 9 leaders will be in attendance; the Soul Eaters will try to prevent this, they will unleash an attack on us so fierce, we may lose and the ritual incomplete."

"We've already got a tonne of magic in place to protect the compound, the wolves will be in the bayou keeping them busy and we have the vampires to stand guard, I don't know much more we can put in place," Elena explained, racking her brain for more protective measures, "I won't be able to channel the Empath gift whilst we're performing the ritual."

"Meet with the 9 leaders, see if they can offer any help," Klaus suggested and she nodded her head slightly in approval but she felt the complete opposite, she was dying on her feet still, "we'll make the compound a fortress, my hybrids will be here and we only require one for the ritual, once the ritual is complete, they will be weakened and we can attack them."

"Sounds good," Marcel said before standing from his chair and turning his attention to Klaus, "hopefully we can be rid of this threat soon."

Elena left the guys to talk, all she wanted to do was see Elijah, she'd waited all morning to speak to him and now that the time was here, she wouldn't waste a minute; she kept a short distance between them as to not raise suspicion and kept it casual.

"Hey there," She said, her voice chipper and cute.

"Hello," his lips curled up into a smile and it took everything in him to not sweep her off her feet.

"Any plans today?" She asked cautiously, sounding more casual than interested.

"Nothing particularly exciting, although I'd rather not, I must go to the cemetery at some point today and ask one of the witches about a protection charm in my possession."

"I can ask th-" his eyes widened and she caught on to what he was doing a moment later, she closed her eyes for a quick moment out the frustration she felt for herself, "you should come with me, I have to meet the 9 leaders so extra back up is always welcomed."

"Why would you need back up if we're at peace with the witches?" Klaus appeared beside her, unsure on how to take situation between them.

"Soul Eaters could attack, Nik, why are you acting so strangely?" She raised her eyebrow at him and she instantly felt guilty for lying and minimising his paranoia.

"You're right, little warrior, forgive me?" Klaus spoke with a smile after a long moment of contemplation.

Instant guilt. It was like someone just shoved a knife into her stomach but she had to smile and keep up the facade, "Of course."

Just as he was about to walk out of the compound, she expressed a look of guilt to Elijah and he reluctantly nodded his head, approving to what she was thinking; he knew how she felt about him and he trusted her with all his heart but this was Klaus, he didn't know how he would behave with her.

"Klaus, wait," she said before chasing after him and stopping him from leaving, "could you actually come with me instead? We haven't had much time to talk lately, I feel like I've barely seen you."

"Of course," he seemed somewhat taken aback by her request but he was happy to oblige; they went out to the car and he drove them straight to Lafayette Cemetery.

They found themselves walking slowly through the centre path of the cemetery, Elena was glancing around trying to locate a witch but something seemed off, it was too quiet; she felt an air of caution radiate from Klaus and she couldn't help but agree.

She pushed the negativity from her mind and continued to walk through, she was sure she would find them eventually and there was plenty to worry about when it came to her next conversation with Klaus, "so, how've you been?"

He stopped walking momentarily in surprise and shooting her a look of disapproval, "Small talk, Elena? Really?"

"I guess so," she laughed slightly, mostly from nerves; she knew if she told him about Elijah then he would see it as act of betrayal, Klaus had once loved Elena and to take that away from him would hurt him beyond measure.

"Is there something on your mind, little warrior?" He asked reluctantly, hoping to avoid a heart-to-heart in the middle of a cemetery and on the look out for witches.

"Klaus, we need to talk," she stopped walking and turned her body to face him; he reciprocated and focused his full attention onto her.

"Elena, what is it?" He sounded truly concerned for her, he knew she had a lot of burdens to bear and he often wondered how she didn't crack under pressure more often; they'd had a close bond once and he would always care for her.

"It's me an-"

"Elena?" She heard a voice call out to her, she instantly snapped her head to follow the sound and her gaze landed upon Kimberly, "what are you doing here?"

"I hope it's okay that we're here," she said before walking towards her with Klaus close by her side, he would probably never fully trust witches, especially with her life.

"Of course, come, we'll have tea," she started to walk and Elena followed behind, her frustration apparent at the interruption; she finally built up the courage to tell him and it was stopped, she couldn't help but see it as a sign, "Will your... friend be joining us?"

Elena looked at Klaus and shrugged her shoulders lightly, he had a brief look of annoyance but he nodded his head and plodded along with them; she lead them to the same tomb they had first met in and she brewed the tea in the exact same way, using magic to light a flame and preparing the tea leaves.

"I'm assuming you're here about the Soul Eaters?" She asked, as she poured out three mugs of tea and passed them around.

"Thank you," she said as she took the tea from her and held it in her hands, "yes, we're certain there going to attack tomorrow during the unification ritual and we're hoping to be as prepared as possible."

"I was going to have this sent to your house today but since you're here," she walked over to a cabinet in the corner of the room and opened a drawer; it appeared to be empty but she waved her hand across the space and a small ancient looking book materialised in front of her.

She lifted it carefully and held it gently in her hands, placing it on the table between them, "this is the only record of the Soul Eaters in history, one of Stephanie's ancestors procured it a long time ago from a dark witch who had ties to the coven that lived when the Soul Eaters before they were banished."

"This is perfect, thank you," Elena carefully picked up the tattered old book and placed it gently in her bag; she could feel the evil that radiated from it, it felt like her heart had blackened when she touched it and she could only assume reading it would mess with her entirely.

"Elena, before you leave, there is something I must ask," she said, putting her cup of tea on the table and placing her hands in her lap, "as you know, you're power derives from New Orleans, you're connected to our Ancestors and you reside in the French Quarter, even though your magic goes back thousands of years, your main link is to us."

"I see where this is going," Klaus muttered under his breath, a look of frustration set on his features; Elena looked over to him and he shot her a warning glance before she returned her gaze to Kimberly.

"Regardless, we would ask you to consider joining our coven, be a full French Quarter witch and you'll be able to channel us all, greatly enhancing your power and you'll be a part of a family of sisters who would die for you," Kimberly's request had completely taken her aback, she had not expected the invitation nor did she ever consider being a part of a coven.

"So you can have Elena's power at your disposal? Be the strongest coven on this side of the sea? You'll take advantage of her, use her for your own ends and she'll be made to suffer," Klaus argued, his patience thinning.

"No, no of course not, Elena, we have no intentions to see you suffer, we only wish for you to join us and be a part of the family that you have every right too," Kimberly persisted but Elena was unsure, she had a lot of magic and it wouldn't be used for selfish intentions or a means to plot against her family or the vampires.

"Thank you for your offer Kimberly, I'll think about it," she smiled softly towards her before standing from her chair and grasping her hand in her own, "and thank you for the book and your hospitality, I'll let you know what I decide."

Kimberly nodded her head once before showing them out of the tomb, a small smile gracing her lips, "it was great to see you again, Elena, we look forward to the ritual tomorrow."

When they were far enough away from the cemetery as to not be heard, they stopped on a bench in the very public street and sat down for a moment; Klaus was defensive and still quite annoyed by the witches request.

"You're not really considering this are you, Elena?" He exasperated, standing from the bench and pacing slightly, he was clearly fidgety and annoyed.

"I'm not sure, Nik, it might a good idea to have more power at my disposal, especially with the Soul Eaters and leading the Unification, help might be an advantage," she could see the disapproval on his face and she hated to disappoint him but regardless, it was her choice to make.

"They'll use your power to take over the French Quarter, they'll kill the vampires, banish the wolves and kill you when you're all used up, you don't know them like I do," he continued to argue, mostly from worry for her safety but it was partly because he didn't want there enemies plotting against his family.

"I'll take it all into consideration," she simply stated and stepped back onto her feet, "now quick, get us home before anyone finds out we have this book."

He nodded his head and slid his arm around her waist, blurring off into the distance and speeding them home; once they arrived, he was immediately on the phone to the others and bringing them back to the plantation immediately.

Elena sat on the floor in front of the table and carefully removed the book from her bag and placed it down in front of her; the darkness she felt before had returned tenfold, it felt like something was eating away at her soul and dread washed over her.

The longer she was around it and the more she stared at it, the more a trance came over her and she hadn't even turned a page yet but she couldn't look away, it was drawing her in.

"Elena?" She heard Klaus call to her in a muffled voice and he sounded far away and she couldn't respond.

In a flash, Elijah was beside her and he placed his hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle nudge, "Elena?"

"Huh?" She said in a daze before she realised who had spoken to her and snapped herself out of the hold it hand on her, "what happened?"

"I'm unsure," he said confusedly, his gaze fixing onto her eyes and searching deep within them; he saw a glimmer of darkness but it quickly faded and her usual shine returned, "this book is imbued with dark magic, you shouldn't touch it."

"Not to worry, I have no intention of touching it," she took a deep breath and swallowed a small lump that had formed in her throat; she quickly turned to Elijah and held out her hand, "just in case, be my anchor, please?"

"Of course," he took her hand in his and interlocked their fingers, a wave of relief and love washed over her and she knew no amount of darkness could take her; Elijah glanced over to Klaus, seeing the discomfort riddled on his face by their closeness and he knew he wasn't ready for the truth.

"Ready?" Elijah simply nodded his head and held her hand tight whilst she conjured the power she needed to complete the spell; the candles around the room lit and she was connected, she felt a darkness air around her but the anchor to Elijah kept her from falling prey to it.

Motioning her fingers in a swiping action, she flicked the page without having to touch it, it was in a language that was older than time and she couldn't understand it; she kept flicking through and noticed that the entries where changing, like people had been adding to it over the centuries.

"This one," she said, as she dropped her hand and scanned her eyes over it, there was old dried blood on the page and she assumed it was made from skin, "but I can't read it."

"Try this," Elijah closed his eyes and thought back to a time when he was human, he remembered his mother sitting with her grimoire in the forest and casting spells to be able to read ruins and marks on the trees left by the wolves but they were old and Esther could not translate them; she cast a few more spells and eventually, a younger Elijah watched the marks turn into a readable language.

Elena closed her eyes and he transferred the memory to her, using his mind diving skill and sharing the pages of the grimoire with the spell on it; it felt like she was there, standing over Esther and reading the spell, watching the ruins change and she instantly began to chant.

She channelled Elijah, using his strength and memories to conjure the power she needed to complete the spell, she repeated the spell over and over again until the breeze of wind stopped and the candle flame soared; she opened her eyes and looked at the page, watching as the symbols and markings slowly began to change into English.

"A translation spell," she figured out and turned to look at Elijah briefly, offering a small smile that he returned, "thank you."

"You're welcome," he flashed her a small smirk before she turned to look at the page and inspect its contents, her dread returning.

Her lips parted slightly and her expression went blank, she was distant and lost in the words on the page; the others all hovered around the table and began to read the same page and they looked amongst each other in a state of panic, Elijah had been the last to look, he could tell by the tension in the room it would involve Elena and he wanted a few more moments of ignorance before he had to know its contents.

"Upon their return in a time far from now, they will seek the source of light and power to anchor to our world, bringing only death and darkness, we shall cease to exist and our plane will vanish into limbo, unleashing a manner of creatures we have never known.

They will use the power and the light of the doppelgänger to complete their ritual, the soul will be reaped during a ceremonial death and used as an endless source of power."

Listening to Klaus read the entry out loud made it feel real and she didn't know how to respond to being the sole reason for the earth to be shrouded in darkness and ceasing to exist.

"We won't let this happen, Elena," Klaus stated, his frustration apparent.

"I'm going to keep going through this book, see if I can find more answers now that it's translated," she began swiping her fingers again and turning the pages slowly back to the beginning.

"We need to prepare for the unification ritual, brother," Kol reminded them, his gaze turning to Elena, "don't worry, darlin', we'll figure this out, nothing is going to happen to you."

"Thank you, Kol," she smiled kindly at him, before turning to face Rebekah, "could you swing by the compound and ask Davina for the wolf talismans? They need to be taken to the pack leaders for protection during the full moon tomorrow."

"I'm on it," she said before placing her hand on her shoulder and looking her in the eyes, "I promise you you're safe, Elena, we will end them and put this whole nightmare behind us; Elena smiled kindly at her and nodded her head before her and Kol vanished from the plantation to return to the compound.

"I'll stay here, Niklaus, do what you need to do, whatever it takes," Elijah spoke, he could see Klaus was enraged and he needed a purpose, somewhere to put his anger before it consumed him; he instantly nodded his head and vanished from the plantation on a vendetta against the Soul Eaters.

He turned to face Elena, although she was trying to be strong, he knew her well enough to know it was a facade and he worried for her, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she spoke as she continued to flick through the pages and read the odd entry.

"You can confide in me, Elena, it's just us two," he trailed his fingers across her cheek and rested his hand on the back of her neck, offering comfort where he could.

"I'm just tired of the doppelgänger curse, it's going to follow me for the rest of my life and it's always used against the people I love, none of you deserve it," she revealed her thoughts and anguish reluctantly, they were her burden to bear and she didn't like to put them on others, especially Elijah, "you all deserve better."

"I, for one, am quite grateful for the doppelgänger curse, it brought you into the world and you're exactly what it needed," he reassured, placing a soft kiss on her forehead and lingering his lips there for a moment, "and what I needed, I couldn't imagine my life without you, our family feel the same, Elena, we would fight any battle for you, any threat and we will eliminate it together."

His words warmed her heart, giving her the most important thing she needed to fight for, hope; hope for their family, for their relationship and for the world, "I love you."

"I love you too," they shared in a long and passionate kiss, her emotions were through the roof and he made her feel whole.

After a while of searching through the book, they got no-where in finding a way to kill then them besides with her Empath gift; the book revealed there origins, they where born from dark magic thousands and thousands of years ago during Egyptian times, nature conjured them to balance the loss of life during times of great death to have somewhere to store the souls for passing on but they soon turned evil, craving more power and holding the souls as food to fuel their dark power.

"So, if they kill me and take my soul in a weird blood ceremony, they can technically bring limbo and our plane together?" Elena reiterated, trying to make sense of it all.

"Precisely," Elijah responded, gathering what information he could fathom and put the pieces together in his head but he still couldn't imagine Elena dying, that's a hurt too deep to consider.

"They'll never be locked away again and every lost soul in limbo would be released into our world, the same darkness and grey fog that exists in limbo will come here and take over," she continued to spout the facts, ensuring every bit of information from the book was read and understood.

"But still no mention on how to kill them," Elijah pursed his lips together in frustration, the crease in his forehead apparent and his patience thinning.

Elena's lips parted slightly and she stood from the floor, breaking the connection they had when she released his hand and the candle flames extinguished; she paced slightly, trying to wrap her mind around a thought she had and whether it would work, "I think I have an idea but it's... optimistic, to say the least. Crazy, even."

"What is it?" Elijah stood from the floor and walked towards her, his brow furrowed as he could see the gears in her mind working on overdrive.

"Obviously I won't be able to project my emotions onto all of the Soul Eaters at once but what if I don't have too? What if there's another way? It'll be hard to do but if done correctly, could wipe them all out at once," she was starting to become excited as she thought more into, each step making more and more sense as she delved into it, the only problem was the how.

"Colour me curious," he smirked slightly, basking in her excitement.

"Ever heard of Pandora's box?" She smiled proudly, her gaze fixated on his and she watched his facial expressions completely change, his lips had parted and his eyebrows raised as he came to the realisation.

"You mean to store your emotions in a box and unleash them onto every Soul Eater?" He reiterated, his mind racing with the possibility.

"Exactly! If we can write a spell to project the emotions into a safe box, I might be able to amplify them as well, making them stronger and quicker to kill them," she continued to theorise.

"The only downside to your plan is if the legend of Pandora is true, then when the box was opened, the evil within it was unleashed on the earth, I can see something similar happening with this. Granted, there's not an ounce of evil within you but there is darkness in everyone, your doppelgänger lineage alone is filled with evil and bloodshed, you couldn't unleash that," he pondered.

"I'll spell it to be in the immediate area only, I can cast the barrier spell to not let anything pass through it, including the contents of the box, the only flaw is trying to get all the Soul Eaters in the same place, it sounds too dangerous," her finger rubbed her chin slightly out of frustration and figuring out the kinks in the plan, they needed help, "we should tell the others, let's go."